You are on page 1of 3

Equivalence above word level

Idioms and fixed expressions

Collocations are quite flexible patterns of language, so they allow variations in their forms. To give
an example, deliver a letter, delivery of a letter, a letter has been delivered and having delivered a
letter are all correct collocations. Also, even though the meaning of a word depends on the meaning
of the others words from the collocations, we can still say that the word has also an individual
meaning. For example, dry cow means a cow which does not produce milk. Even though the two
words are part of a collocation, we can still identify the meaning associated to dry, and also cow is
used with its normal meaning a farm animal.

On the other hand, idioms and fixed expressions are frozen patterns of language, meaning they
allow little or no variation in form and often have meanings which one cannot deduce from their
individual components. To give an example the idiom bury the hatchet (to become friendly again
after a quarrel) allows no variation in its form.

Fixed expressions have some things in common with idioms like for example the fact that they
allow little or no variation in form. Examples: Ladies and Gentlemen, as a matter of fact, or
proverbs like practice what you preach. However, unlike idioms, proverbs and fixed expressions
sometimes have a quite transparent meaning.

Idioms, fixed expressions and the direction of translation

It is very hard for a non-native speaker of a language to actively use idioms and fixed expressions
and translators are no exceptions. There are 2 main problems that translators must face: first of all,
they must recognize and interpret the idioms correctly and, second, they have to render the various
aspects of meaning into the target language.

The interpretation of idioms

Most people probably think that it is easy to recognize an idiom, but this isnt always that obvious.
The general rule is: the less sense an expression makes in a context and the more difficult it is to
understand, the more likely a translator will recognize it as an idiom. For example, expressions
which violate the truth conditions (like its raining cats and dogs, food for thought), those which
seem to be ill-formed from a grammatical point of view (like blow someone to kingdom come, the

1
powers that be) can be recognized as idioms quite easily. As the author puts it: opaque idioms
which do not make sense for one reason or another can actually be a blessing in disguise.

There are two main cases in which an idiom can be misinterpreted:

a). Some idioms are misleading: one does not think that they are idioms, because they can be
interpreted literally. This means that these expressions have both a literal and an idiomatic meaning.
For example, drain the radiator has a literal meaning, but it also means to go to the toilet.

b). An idiom in the source language might have a counter-part in the target language which
resembles it from the point of view of their surface, but has in fact a different meaning. For
example, to pull someones leg in English means to tell someone something untrue as a joke in
order to shock them and amuse them when they find out later that it was a joke. Some Arabic
dialects have an idiomatic expression which is identical on the surface pull his leg but the
meaning is quite different: it means to trick someone into talking about something s/he would have
rather kept secret.

The translation of idioms: difficulties

Here is a list of the main difficulties involved in translating idioms:


a). An idiom or fixed expression may have no equivalent in the target language. This might happen
because they are culture-specific. To give an example, the formula Merry Christmas is related to a
religious and social occasion which does not an equivalent in all the cultures. However, not even
these culture-specific idioms are untranslatable. The English expression to carry coals to
Newcastle is culture-specific because it makes reference to an English city, but can be translated
into German as to carry owls to Athens. They both have the same meaning: to supply something
to someone who already has plenty of it.

b). An idioms may have a similar counterpart in the target language, but they are used in different
contexts. For example, to sing a different tune has the meaning of to say or to do something that
signals a change in opinion because it contradicts what one has said before or done before. In
Chinese, to sing different tunes has a similar meaning, but it has political connotations.

c). An idiom can be used in the text in its both literal and idiomatic sense at the same time. We have
the example of Ill cut off my right arm which is similar to pigs might fly in English. However,

2
in the given example, the Arabic idiom has in the text both a literal and an idiomatic meaning, so it
is impossible to translate it into English without losing one if its meanings.

The translation of idioms: strategies

There are many strategies which a translator can use when having to translate an idiom of fixed
expression. However, when choosing one of the following strategies, we must keep in mind that the
context is very important:

1. Using an idiom of similar meaning and form

This kind of match is not that frequent, because it is hard to find an idiom in the target language
which conveys the same meaning and which consists of equivalent lexical items.

2. Using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form

Sometimes we might find in the target language idioms which convey the same meaning, but are
made up of different lexical items. For example, in the source text we have the idiom: very much at
home, which has been translated in to Chinese as is totally at ease.

3. Translation by paraphrase

This method is the most frequently used. And he have some examples: the English idiom shutting
the stable door when the horse has bolted turns into too little, too late if we back-translate from
French.

4. Translation by omission

This method can be used when the idiom has no close match in the target language, or because it
would be hard to paraphrase or for stylistic reasons. Another strategy would be the strategy of
compensation. This means that the translator omits the idiomatic or fixed expression at the point
where it occurs in the text, but introduces it somewhere else.

If we want our translations not to feel foreign and to enhance their readability, we must pay
special attention to collocations, idioms and fixed expressions. If we do this we might achieve the
ultimate goal of every translator to have their translation pass as an original.
3

You might also like